This research will determine the functional abilities and the architectural dimensional needs of 500 people with arthritis. Architectural dimensional needs refers to those building specifications that make the building more accessible to the handicapped. A random sample of clinics in Tucson will be used to obtain the widest distribution of functional level, age and sex of these patients as possible. The functional abilities (i.e., range of motion and other parameters) of the individual will be determined by a therapist (physical or occupational), performing a standard joint examination and then using an analysis technique developed for this research program. The individual will then proceed through a system of adjustable architectural mockups. The dimensional range of the architectural mock-ups required for satisfactory function will be determined. An optimum value, for instance, the height of a handrail, will be derived from the study of the subject population. The functional abilities and dimensional data will be recorded and processed by computer to yield statistical profiles of the arthritic population seen. This will produce a catalog of dimensional needs for each functional group in this population. The functional groupings are derived from statistical analysis of individual functional abilities. The intersection of the dimensional requirements of the largest reasonable population can then be used to evaluate the appropriateness of existing building codes and point to other specifications not stated in existing codes, but shown necessary by this research. The methods and techniques developed will be carefully recorded and freely shared so that they may be used in the future with other handicapped populations to increase the basic anthropometric data bases of the dimensional needs of the handicapped. It is hoped that this research will be a significant step toward developing "accessibility codes" based on broad-based scientific data rather than existing limited data and personal opinions.